Cold cucumber cream soup

A recipe from Vegetables from an Italian Garden

Preparation: 15 minutes plus  hours chilling

Cooking: 25 minutes

Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:

2¼ cups vegetable stock

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2¼ cups chopped cucumbers

scant 1 cup diced potatoes

½ cup chopped lettuce

6 fresh mint leaves, plus extra to garnish

¼ cup heavy cream

salt and pepper

Method:

Pour the stock into a pan and bring to a boil. Heat the oil in another pan, add the onion, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until softened.

Add the cucumber, potatoes, lettuce, and mint, and cook for another 5 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, pour in the hot stock, and cook for about 15 minutes.

Transfer to a food processor and process to a puree. Pour into a pan and reheat.

Stir in the cream and heat for another 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat, let cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator for several hours.

To serve, pour into a soup tureen and garnish with mint leaves.